Music & Memory: SDFMC Program Explores the Connection

Since 2018, The South Dakota Foundation for Medical Care has been bringing music to the ears of some nursing home residents through a national program called Music & Memory.

Grant funds from the South Dakota Department of Health have enabled the SDFMC to distribute mp3 players and laptops to dozens of participating nursing homes and train staff to become "music detectives", developing personalized playlists for residents with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or other types of memory loss.

Program Coordinator Denise Kolba, MS, CNS, RN, says this simple intervention can make a huge difference for residents, staff, and families.

"It is really remarkable what listening to personalized music can do," says Kolba. "Research has shown that it can reduce restraint usage, reduce the use of antipsychotic and anti-anxiety medications, enhance socialization, reduce falls, reduce pain, and reduce resistance to care."

Memory loss often causes people to withdraw, and confusion can make them wary of staff caring for them and even family. But Kolba says when they listen to music that holds meaning for them - often music they listened to in their teens and early 20s - things can turn around quickly.

The key is to find just the right mix of music. When a resident responds to a piece with a glint in their eye, a smile, toe-tapping, or swaying, the "music detective" adds it to a playlist. Song-by-song, a personalized playlist is created and is loaded onto the resident's designated mp3 player. Listening to that music then becomes a regular part of the patient's care plan.

"COVID has been especially hard for nursing home residents who have had to be more isolated," says Kolba. "The Music & Memory program gives them another way to engage and have more joy. And, of course, when residents are happier and calmer, it reduces the stress on staff."

"The success of the Music & Memory initiative is based on “many partnerships working together” to meet the needs of each resident with dementia or a related disorder," says Chris Qualm with the SD Department of Health. 

Kolba says SDFMC's most recently reported quarter data shows nursing homes in phase 2 of the program have the lowest percentage of long-stay residents who receive antipsychotic medication, the largest reduction in antipsychotic medication use over the prior quarter, and the smallest increase in antipsychotic medication use over baseline.

So far, 90 South Dakota long-term care facilities have been equipped and trained to offer the Music & Memory program.